<nobr>Aug 25, 2008</nobr>

EBRI Study Suggests Section 401(k) Plan Experience Holds Lessons for Health Care

A recent Employee Benefit Research Institute Issue Brief finds that the evolution of Section 401(k) plans may hold lessons for employer-provided health plans, particularly consumer-driven health plans. EBRI's Brief -- Lessons From the Evolution of 401(k) Retirement Plans for Increased Consumerism in Health Care: An Application of Behavioral Research -- analyzes human behavior for incremental improvement in benefit programs designed to balance the needs of employers and their workers, while controlling costs and improving worker wellbeing.

The report looks specifically at lessons learned in the retirement realm with respect to offering workers choice, financial incentives, and more information and education, compared with the early evolution of consumer-driven health plans, which are still being driven solely by the market and not by legislation.

EBRI says that as employers look to improve plan design, there is evidence about the effects of choice, financial incentives, and information on worker decision making. According to EBRI, research in this area has resulted in many retirement plan sponsors moving toward plan designs and programs that recognize the benefits of well-designed defaults, simplified choices, required active decision making, framing, and commitment to future improvements.


Websites:

EBRI Issue Brief

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